Menopause happens to women between the ages of 45-55 years old and is defined by the passing of 1 full year after a woman’s last period. The years leading up to the “pause” are known as perimenopause when the female menstrual cycle becomes irregular but hasn’t stopped completely. Menopause is a difficult time for most women–mood swings, hot flashes, and genitourinary syndrome can be uncomfortable at the least and at worst, debilitating. 

What Happens to the Body in Menopause?

During menopause, the ovaries cease producing high levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, which causes the uncomfortable symptoms that most women experience. Many enlist the help of hormone therapy to ease the uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes downright miserable symptoms that occur during this transition.   

Is Hormone Therapy Dangerous?

Hormone therapy, has been a controversial subject since the publication of the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study which found that the use of estrogen and progesterone hormone therapy after menopause can put women at an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, blood clots, breast cancer, and dementia.   

How Do We Know That Bioidentical Hormones Are a Safer Option?

Natural bioidentical low-dose estrogen cream has not been found to cause these serious health issues, but unfortunately, some still associate estrogen cream with other forms of hormone therapy that were found to be harmful.    A 2019 study found that vaginal estrogen cream is safe for post-menopausal women, which hopefully shines a brighter light on the shadow cast over estrogen cream by the former study.   

How Does Estrogen Cream Help with Menopause? 

Estrogen is a hormone developed by the human body that is vital in maintaining female sex organs. During menopause, the body’s supply of estrogen is short which can lead to uncomfortable systems such as:  

• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Pain while urinating or an increase in urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Dryness and soreness in the vagina
• Itching, redness, or soreness

When applied directly to the vagina, topical estrogen is a safe and effective treatment for atrophy-related pain due to menopause. One study shows 93% of women using low-dose estrogen cream report significant improvement, with 57%-75% reporting their sexual comfort was restored.    

What Symptoms Does Bioidentical Estrogen Cream Help With?

Bioidentical estrogen cream helps to relieve symptoms in women associated with menopause, including:  

• Vaginal dryness
• Itching, burning, or painful sensations during intercourse 
• Urinary tract infection 
• Urinary incontinence 

Is Estrogen Cream Safe?

For many years, it was generally accepted that synthetic hormones, including estrogen creams and other forms of hormone therapy, were linked to increased risk of breast cancer, strokes, gallbladder disease, and heart disease. However, a landmark 2019 study found that low-dose estrogen cream is safe for topical use and has been shown to safely alleviate symptoms of menopause that reduce the quality of life for postmenopausal women.

Popular commercially available estrogen creams often use synthetic or estrogen derived from pregnant mares. However, recent research supports the use of bioidentical hormones as safer.

At People’s Choice Pharmacy in Richmond Hill, Ontario, we only use bioidentical estrogen as it is superior and safer than synthetic hormones. Bioidentical Estrogen is derived from plants and has a molecular structure that is similar to the hormones your body naturally secretes. We use a custom dosage of natural, bioidentical estrogen in the creams and medications we make so that the prescription is tailored exactly to your needs.   

Low-dose bioidentical estrogen cream made from plants is a safe and effective way to combat the discomfort and pain of menopause. Be sure to work with your primary care doctor who can refer you to a reputable sterile compounding pharmacy that specialises in manufacturing patient-specific estrogen cream.

What are Bioidentical Hormones?

Bioidentical hormones are synthesized from plants. These hormones are considered “bioidentical” because they are identical in molecular structure to hormones made in the human body. Bioidentical estrogen is derived from yams and soy, and is recommended over synthetic estrogen hormones (which are derived from the urine of pregnant mares) because it is more effective and is associated with lower health risks.   

Natural bioidentical estrogen cream is made at a sterile compounding pharmacy. A compounding pharmacist will develop an estrogen cream with the right hormone levels for a patients’ specific needs based on a prescription from a healthcare provider.   

How Does Estrogen Cream Alleviate Menopause Symptoms?

Estrogen cream helps alleviate symptoms of menopause such as vaginal dryness, itching, burning, or painful sensations during intercourse, by increasing the normal clear vaginal discharge. This discharge helps lubricate the vagina and keeps the urethra and vulva healthy.   

Using estrogen cream during menopause reduces the risk of urinary tract infections (UTI) and urinary incontinence, and can also help alleviate frustrating hot flashes and night sweats.   

Should I Use Estrogen Cream in Perimenopause?

Women at any stage of menopause can benefit from estrogen cream, including perimenopause. Estrogen cream offers effective relief from the uncomfortable and sometimes downright miserable genitourinary symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.    

Is Estrogen Cream Available Over The Counter in Canada?

No. Estrogen cream is regulated by Health Canada for quality control and correct dosing, which is why it is not available over the counter. Because hormones fluctuate, there isn’t a uniform cream that’s right for everyone. Consult your primary care physician to see if estrogen cream is right for you. If so, your primary care doctor will write you a prescription for estrogen cream. Once a prescription has been written, your doctor will work directly with a professional compounding pharmacy, like People’s Choice Pharmacy, to manufacture an estrogen cream with the correct hormone levels to meet your specific needs.   

The professionals at People’s Choice Pharmacy are experts when it comes to manufacturing natural, bioidentical estrogen cream made in a top-notch sterile compounding facility. The pharmacists at PCP will facilitate communication with your primary care doctor to ensure the proper hormone dose for your needs.   

Is Estrogen Cream Safer Than Pills?

Yes. Topical estrogen cream has been shown to be free from the carcinogenic side effects associated with other forms of hormone therapy. Synthetic estrogen has been linked to causing serious health conditions including breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. These serious health issues are not associated with natural bioidentical low-dose estrogen cream.   

Does Estrogen Cream Have Side-Effects?

Estrogen cream is considered safe but possible side effects have been reported. These may include: 

• Nausea/vomiting
• Bloating
• Breast tenderness
• Headaches
• Changes in weight and mood

Which Estrogen Cream is the Best?

A low-dose estrogen cream formulated by a pharmacist at a sterile compounding pharmacy who collaborates with your primary care physician is always the best bet. This is the only way to ensure you’re getting the right hormone levels from your estrogen cream.   

Hormones fluctuate, and the needs of one patient are not the needs of all patients. Women who are in the midst of menopause will require an estrogen cream with different hormone levels than premenopausal or post-menopausal women who are also suffering from genitourinary symptoms.  

Should I Use Premarin Topical Cream? 

Premarin is the most widely used vaginal estrogen cream for women suffering from symptoms of menopause, however, it is not recommended. The estrogen in Premarin is derived from pregnant mare horse urine (in fact the name Premarin is an abbreviation of the words Pregnant Mare Urine), and is known to cause negative side effects, such as weight gain, migraines and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and blood clots.  

Aside from being very expensive, Premarin is not tailor-fit to the needs of the individual patient as is a natural bioidentical estrogen cream made with the help of a patients’ primary care physician and a pharmacist at a compounding pharmacy.   

Where Can I Buy Natural Bioidentical Low-Dose Estrogen Cream in Canada?

People’s Choice Pharmacy in Richmond Hill, Ontario is a highly respected sterile compounding pharmacy. The experienced pharmacists at People’s Choice will work with your primary care doctor to develop an estrogen cream with the hormone levels that are just right for you. 

Why suffer through the pain and discomfort of menopause symptoms alone? People’s Choice Pharmacy can help! If you’re at your wit’s end with annoying menopause symptoms, ask the professionals at People’s Choice Pharmacy about bioidentical low-dose estrogen cream today and start feeling like yourself again.

Sources:   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19179815/#:~:text=Conclusion%3A%20Physiological%20data%20and%20clinical,synthetic%20and%20animal%2Dderived%20counterparts.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/195120   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963523/   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4561742/#:~:text=The%20genitourinary%20syndrome%20of%20menopause%20(GSM)%20is%20a%20new%20term,symptoms%20(urgency%2C%20dysuria%2C%20and   http://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2019/03/estrogen-therapy   https://nwhn.org/menopause-hormone-therapy-and-heart-disease/#:~:text= Women%20using%20Premarin%20continued%20to,attack%2C%20stroke%20and%20blood%20clots.